The III centenary of the canonization of St. Teresa in Navarre

The commemorative acts of the III Centenary of the canonization of St. Teresa in Navarra (1922) did not have in Navarra, for obvious reasons, as much echo as those of the co-patron saint Francis Xavier. Nevertheless, the important presence of the Teresian Carmel throughout the Foral Community, made that it was celebrated with greater or lesser pomp in Lesaca, Villafranca, Pamplona and Corella. Ana Hueso gave an account of the commemoration in Pamplona, based on a photograph preserved in the Municipal file . On that occasion the façade of the Descalzos was decorated with an interesting canvas of the saint with her foundations that the Discalced Carmelite nuns of San José of the capital of Navarre keep.

This was not the only celebration of the saint in Pamplona. In the high school of the Teresianas a great literary-musical evening was organized, which was performed in the auditorium of the Orfeón Pamplonés on May 14. The magazine La Avalancha ( October 24, 1922) published a photograph of the protagonists, with their names and surnames, on review .

_{Literary and musical evening organized by the Teresian Sisters of Pamplona. Photo La Avalancha, October 24, 1922.}

On this occasion, we will recall what refers to Corella, in the light of a photographic testimony and the chronicle preserved by the Discalced Carmelites of Araceli.

A photograph of Marcelino García in Corella, 1922.

In 1922 a double event was celebrated in Corella: the second centenary of the foundation of the Carmelites of Araceli and the third centenary of the canonization of Saint Teresa. Photographer and painter Marcelino García took photographs of the procession. A couple of files written by a nun of the mentioned convent and Nolasco Viscasillas give account of the events, on the occasion of which there were great religious functions, which culminated with a great procession, at four o'clock in the afternoon of September 3, 1922, with the images of St. Teresa, the Virgin of Araceli and the Infant Jesus of Prague of the Carmelite Fathers through the streets of Corella, making station in the Benedictines and in the parish of San Miguel. With the civil presidency of the City Council and the band of music and the accompaniment of the Band of Music, toured the streets San Roque, Mayor, Merced to enter the Benedictines, Placeta, place de la Verdura, place de los Fueros, Wayside Cross, Carmen and Santa Teresa. The act lasted three hours, returning at dusk to Araceli. There was no lack of gunpowder, the ringing of bells, or the flowery sermon at position by the prior of the Carmelites, Father Anastasio. The music chapel was reinforced with foreign elements from Logroño and Villafranca. The aforementioned chronicle relates the authentic collective madness, the shouts of Vivas, the sounds of the Royal March on the organs of Araceli and San Benito and the Band of Music.

_{Procession in Corella to celebrate the III centenary of the canonization of the saint and II centenary of the arrival of the Discalced Carmelites to the town. Photo Marcelino García. Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Araceli}

The snapshot is taken on Merced Street, with a view towards the Church of La Merced, which is the tall building in the background, now disappeared, in an area of the city that is currently very transformed. The scene is dominated by the statue of the saint, surrounded by many people carrying lanterns, candles and wearing the scapular of Carmen.

The author of the photo is Marcelino García Martínez "el tío Catoles" (Grávalos, 1877- Corella, 1950), who had a photographic studio in Corella. The remains of a circular stamp on the lower right side leave no room for doubt. García was also a painter, whose work, both religious and portraits, is preserved in Corella, making in 1922 the paintings of the presbytery of the convent of Carmelitas Descalzos of that city and in Fitero two paintings of the chapel of the Virgen de la Barda. The first news of García as a photographer can be found in the 1903 and 1904 programs of the town's festivities, where he inserted two advertisements of his studio. Again, we see him again in the 1927 program, although not as an advertiser, but as the author of the photographs. This photographer gave his file, consisting of negatives and positives, for safekeeping to Juan Escudero, who in turn donated it to the town council of Corella, in whose file it is kept today. From Araceli he received several commissions, in 1925 to photograph Saint Teresa, a little later the Child Jesus dressed as a Carmelite, and before that the Virgin of Araceli.

LEARN MORE

FERNÁNDEZ GRACIA, R., Tras las celosías. Patrimonio material e inmaterial en las clausuras de Navarra, Pamplona, University of Navarra - Fuentes Dutor Foundation, 2018.
HUESO, A., "Celebración del III Centenario de la canonización de santa Teresa de Jesús (Pamplona, 1922), https://www.unav.edu/web/catedra-patrimonio/classroom-abierta/pieza-del-mes/2014/octubre, enquiry September 23, 2022.
La Avalancha, no. 661, October 24, 1922